Junior KJ Hockaday stood in front of a portrait of Father Charles K. Riepe with President Richard O’Hara. Smiling for the camera, he then looked up at the painting, into the face of the man that helped make his JC education possible.
“I am very grateful. By being the recipient of the award, I have to make Father proud and be a mature young man. It allowed me to stay at John Carroll, gain this great education, and it makes it a little bit easier on my parents,” said Hockaday, who plays varsity basketball and baseball.
As Father Charles Riepe’s final gift to the school, he left $600,000 to be added to “The Reverend Charles K. Riepe Scholar Athlete Endowment Fund,” created in 2006.
The donation marks the largest by any individual thus far to JC.
“I consider it a great blessing, as I considered Father a great blessing to the school. We’re very dedicated to being good stewards of this gift and his generosity,” said O’Hara.
The money will benefit “a variety of student-athletes in different sports,” said O’Hara.
Director of Development Laura Lang added, “Any sport, male [or] female, he had no restrictions at all. Academics holds equal weight with [the athletics].”
However, the scholarships will be given as a result of the interest generated from the donation. Lang said, “This is an endowed fund, which means we can’t spend it all the way the guidelines are written. Hopefully with the economy getting better, interest rates will increase, so we’d have more money to work with each year.”
“This bequest multiplies what’s already in the fund by nearly six fold, in which case we’d have to calculate the interest on the endowment because that will provide the funding for the scholarships. While the fund can now serve one to two students a year, it potentially could serve maybe 10 a year, depending on the economy,” said O’Hara.
Even with the increase in the amount of money available, the fund will still continue to provide partial aid. “My interpretation of Father’s intention was that it be able to give aid to a number of students if possible, instead of having a large amount going to a limited number. It might be just enough to enable a larger number to be here,” said O’Hara.
It will have additional benefits for admissions, said Lang, “Hopefully we’ll attract athletes, male and female, who may be looking to go to other schools because of their scholarship packages. That was so important to Fr. Riepe, athletic and academics, and he wanted to keep kids in the county. It can be a real attraction for families who have great athletes and great academic students.”
According to a 2006 press release, Fr. Riepe created the fund because he “wanted to create a fund that would recognize both my esteem for the school and attract top-notch scholar athletes to John Carroll.”
Lang added, “John Carroll was [Fr. Riepe’s] first love. He started with the school in 1964, was one of the founders of the school, and even when he was gone in the 80s, he supported the school. So he really felt like he was the patriarch of this institution and wanted to make sure that financially, that it had an endowment that would last a long long time.”
In addition, “It is hoped that colleges across the country will find our candidates attractive and continue financial aid,” said Fr. Riepe in the press release, something Hockaday has achieved, after receiving an 80% scholarship to attend the University of Maryland for baseball.
Fr. Riepe maintained a special connection with the Athletic Department, coaching JV basketball for six years. O’Hara said, “He took a very, very lively interest in the success of John Carroll sports.”
“Football was a particular love of Father’s, as well as lacrosse. Father attended Gilman and I heard it said about him that part of his dream was that John Carroll would become the ‘Gilman of the north.’ I would imagine that he aspired for John Carroll to grow into that very prestigious kind of school that Gilman is, that places a high premium on strong academics as well as strong athletics,” said O’Hara.
The actual fund, prior to Fr. Riepe’s donation, had almost $100,000 in it. In 2006, he began the fund with $30,000, and continued to add to it over the next two years.
Currently, the award is given to incoming freshman, each of whom receive $1,500, although the amount per person will likely change with Riepe’s donation.
In addition, “A few alumni restrict their annual gifts to the fund,” said Lang.
O’Hara added, “At the time of [Fr. Riepe’s] death, we did have some contributions and we’ve had some since that time.”
There are currently three Riepe scholars, according to Lang, with the hope to add more.
To apply to receive aid, incoming students can apply online, although information is available in other admissions materials.
“It’s an essay contest. There is a committee that reviews and chooses the winner. [The essay topic] is why I want to be a scholar athlete at John Carroll,” said Lang. The committee includes Lang, Athletic Director Larry Dukes, and Principal Paul Barker, with input from O’Hara.
Fr. Riepe was previously on the committee, and its structure will change with his death. “Probably the school president will take Father’s place, or the president’s designee,” said O’Hara.
Within the Athletic Department, there are goals to grow the fund. “We do want to continue to grow the fund because that money will run out unless we find a way of creating an ongoing stream of money. We don’t have definitive plans, except that we’re looking to take donations into the fund and an event to host to raise money annually,” said Dukes.
There are no specific plans about an event. Dukes said, “We’re all over the place with ideas, in the brainstorming phase. Hopefully, by the end of the year, we’ll have a good idea of what we’d like to do. It all has to be worked out with the Development Office to make sure it doesn’t compete time wise or likewise with another fundraising event.”
The fund, however, doesn’t have a large benefit for the Athletic Department, according to Dukes, “I don’t think it necessarily helps the sports programs to any large degree. In one respect, we should see some kids be able to come to John Carroll that financially can’t today, but I don’t think there’s any specific program that’s going to benefit more than another.”
Even so, Dukes said about the donation, “It’s a wonderful thing that he did. His love of academics and athletics certainly drove him to make this type of contribution back to John Carroll. A lot of families in the future will benefit because of his generosity.”
Added Hockaday, “I actually had a chance to speak with Father and I thanked him graciously, but the only thing I can do now is be a great kid and use my award in honoring his name.”
Kate Froehlich can be reached for comment at [email protected].